Can't Connect to Network? Reboot Your Router.
If you can’t connect to the Internet or your computer network, your network router may be the culprit. A router is nothing magical. It is a small box with processing chips and software that tells it how to give IP addresses and send data to the correct recipient (this is a very basic description of a router). This kind of makes it a computer with no monitor or keyboard. And, in many ways, routers can act like computers.
A router has software and software is written by people. And we all know that people aren’t perfect which means that the router software isn’t perfect. So what do you do if your computer isn’t working? You reboot it. And that is exactly what you should do with your router. At least I hope you reboot before the hammer comes out to play… =)
So the router is the device that gives each of your networked computers their IP Addresses. So if you don’t have a valid IP Address such as 10.1.1.65 or 192.168.1.101 (Anything that starts with 169. is NOT valid), your router probably isn’t doing it job. Thus you should reboot it. Now this isn’t a cure-all, but it will certainly cure a lot of router and network based issues.
The easiest way to reboot a router is this: Unplug the power cable. I would recommend leaving it out for about 15 seconds then plug it back in. This should fix the network problem. If it doesn’t, go to your command prompt and type “ipconfig /release” then when it is finished, type “ipconfig /renew”. Type them WITHOUT the ” ” quotation marks.
I hope this has been helpful.
If you still cannot connect to your network or the internet, Biden PC is available to repair your computer network within many areas of Southern California. Please see our Service Area list on our business website.
Happy Computing,
Tim
Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Excellent advise. Though to some it may sound crude, it is very true. Due to the fact Routers are left on for hours even days on end, there is a lot of processing going on in those little miracle boxes, and some times the processor has too much baggage thus causes it to slow or completely halt, thus affecting your connection the the internet/network.
Funny for many problems i have faced with PC, i find a good reboot, handles 90% of them.
Emanuel
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:04 am
@Emanuel,
It may be crude but as you know, it works quite consistently. I’ve even seen routers that have been left on for months with no problems. But when there is a problem, I’ve rebooted the router and Viola, the problem is solved.
In my opinion, there is no need to fluff something up (as I’ve seen other techs do) and make it look grand when a simple fix is all that is needed. That being said, I do not like work-arounds. I like to actually fix the problem but I see no need to make something look difficult to puff myself up in the eyes of my clients.
Tim
December 30th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
so how about this: I cannot connect to the router after a computer reboot. I HAVE to reboot the router in order to connect! I am running vista x64. Never had this problem with my verizon fios router but this is a vonage linksys router. I really hate having to restart the router everytime I reboot. any suggestions??
January 2nd, 2009 at 7:44 am
Do you HAVE to use the Vonage Linksys router? I have never been a big fan of Linksys routers because they have always given me strange problems. Is it possible to use Vonage with your old Verizon FIOS router or maybe even get a new router? If so, I like NetGear routers. Just don’t use the CD when installing the NetGear routers. Plug in your PC and use the IP Address on the bottom of the router and go through the setup wizard. You’ll have better luck that way.